


Attraction

by CrimsonPhoenix



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Actors, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attraction, Best Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Mentions of Rape, Musicians, Panic Attacks, Performing Arts, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:02:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15285255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonPhoenix/pseuds/CrimsonPhoenix
Summary: After a video of her singing catches the attention of an esteemed musician, Felicity Smoak gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work with some of the best performing arts teachers in the United States at Starling Academy of Fine Arts, much to her father’s dismay. On the road to prove to her father that the music industry is where she is meant to be, she meets a fellow student who is extremely dedicated to his craft, who teaches her that she can have fun while being serious about music. Can she afford to take some of her focus off of music and shift it to her growing attraction to her best friend?





	1. Sunday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! This is my first fic ever and I'm really nervous about sharing it... but I will anyway! I will try to post new chapters regularly, but I'm not sure about a set schedule. I'll update about that if I do. Don't mind me! Read on and thank you so much for reading!

Felicity tapped the eraser of her pencil repeatedly on the paper on her desk, staring blankly in front of her, willing the words to come to her. She peered down at the journal page in front of her filled with scratched out words and phrases, still tapping away. Frustrated, she thought, “ _Why does nothing sound right?”_

_“Miss. Smoak!”_

Felicity jumped in her seat, the pencil slipping from her grip. She focused her eyes and noticed that her teacher as well as her classmates were looking straight at her, some gazes impatient.

“The recent discovery of your talents did not go unheard of among the staff or students of this school. But that does not excuse your actions in any class, especially not in mine, regardless of how knowledgeable you are with the subject. This is not music class. You may be finished with the exam, but your classmates are not. So, _please_ , quit with the tip-tapping,” Mr. Young berated.  

“Sorry,” Felicity answered quickly. Her peers turned back in their seats and Mr. Young sat back down at his desk. From the corner of her eye, Felicity could see her friend, Alena, looking at her and subtly shaking her head. Felicity turned back to her journal and continued in her task to think of lyrics for the song she was writing. _Isn’t it lovely, all alone? Heart of petals, my skin and bones._ She crossed out yet another string of words, not sounding right.

Fifteen minutes later the bell rang, causing the students to scramble around, gathering their belongings to rush out of the classroom.

“Don’t forget to read chapters seven and eight in the textbook over the weekend in preparation of the lecture I have for you all on Monday!” Mr. Young bellowed in attempts to get the message out before everyone left the room.

Felicity sighed as she walked out of the classroom with a slight bounce in her step. As she moved toward the front of the school to wait for Ryan, her guard and driver, to take her home, Alena caught up with her and noted the upbeat shift in her friend’s mood. “Ugh. Can you at least act like you’re sad to leave me here all alone, to fend for myself, while you’re off in the fancy-shmancy world of Juilliard or whatever?” Alena grumbled.

“Okay, well first off, I’m not going to Juilliard. Yet. That’s my goal. And second off, it’s kinda your fault that I’m leaving Starling Prep. So don’t you go on grumbling to me about leaving you here alone.”

“How was I supposed to know that you were gonna blow up on YouTube? I didn’t plan for _him_ to see the video and completely fall under the trance of your lovely voice!”

Shaking her head, Felicity replied, “You might as well have. I still can’t believe that you uploaded the video without me knowing.”

“But hey, when you become all famous and everything, remember us little people? Remember me?” Alena whispered, her eyes becoming glassy.

“Hey, none of that now. Starling Academy is only a drive away from here. And you can still call or text me. It’s not like I’m being shipped off to boarding school across the world that makes us all act like recluses.”

In all honesty, Felicity didn’t feel bad at all about leaving Starling Prep. Yeah, Alena was a good friend, but she didn’t share the same passions as Felicity did. Not beyond academics. They could speak for hours on end about revolutionizing technology and writing their own codes and programs. But that was not the language Felicity wanted to express herself with. No, she wanted to express herself in the notes and beats of music and through the lyrics of songs.

Felicity would miss her friend, truly, but she could not help but feel trapped in the life her father had planned out for her. Despite following her father around from the tender age of five years old, with her peaked interest in computers and technology, she couldn’t say that she held the same amount of interest in the wires and circuits twelve years later. When Felicity built her first computer at the age of seven, her father could have not been prouder. Noah Kuttler was rarely home anymore with his new start-up, Kuttler Industries, and Felicity wanted to do something that would capture her father’s attention.

From that point on, he was completely invested in Felicity’s life. He began to teach her basic languages for programming, and enrolled her in the best schools that would accommodate her intellect to direct her on the path to one day work alongside him as heads of the company to revolutionize the tech world.

Felicity saw movement in front of her and became defensive, only to realize that it was Ryan walking toward her to collect her backpack. He smiled down at her with a teasing attitude, “May I take your bag, Miss?”

She noted that the female population of Starling Prep looked toward their direction and began whispering amongst one another, turning their bodies toward her general direction, some staring while others giggled and brushed locks of hair behind their ear. Felicity sighed and rolled her eyes. Could people really not contain themselves? She understood that Ryan was attractive, with his imposing, fit frame of six feet two, sharp jaw covered in stubble, styled dark hair, and his piercing grey eyes. And the slight country twang in his voice did nothing but add more charm to his appearance. But he picked her up and dropped her off at school here nearly everyday for the past three years, save for the past couple of weeks when he took some time off for his sister’s wedding.

Her father insisted that she have some form of security ever since the company took a turn and grew into a player among the major tech companies in Starling, Queen Consolidated and Merlyn Global. Ryan came into her life six years ago, when he was just twenty one years old, looking for some form of action in his life as a civilian after being honorably discharged from the military due to an injury he received from his service overseas that prohibited him from being able to complete intensive tasks in the field. Noah was set against hiring him for his darling daughter, but Donna put her foot down when it came to her husband’s choices of burly older men. Her mother said that she wanted to make her daughter comfortable having a shadow for the foreseeable future, so she justified having Ryan as Felicity’s protector because he could easily blend in. But Felicity knew that her mother chose Ryan because she fell for his southern charms, just as the rest of the female population of Starling did, not in a romantic way of course, but in a maternal way.

Felicity shrugged the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and walked to Ryan. She squeezed him tight in a hug before handing her bag to him, shaking her head with a slight laugh, “You’re incorrigible.”

His smile grew wider, displaying the dimples on his cheeks and his pearly whites. “Missed you too, Darlin’.”

Felicity swore she heard several sighs behind her. She turned back to Alena and gave her a small smile. “You’re still coming over tomorrow, right?”

Alena perked up a little bit at the reminder of the sleepover. “Of course I am! This is the last time I get you all to myself before you go off and make new friends.”

“You know that I don’t like talking to people, Alena. I’ll be surprised if I make even one friend at the Academy. Ryan’s waiting, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“That’s true. See ya, Liss!”

Felicity groaned as she stepped into the passenger seat of Ryan’s Cadillac CT6. She hated that nickname. She turned to her left and just noticed Ryan’s choice of outfit. “You don’t have a dress code. Why are you wearing a suit? You hate how constricting it feels around your neck.”

“Could a gentleman not surprise a young lady by dressing nicely on occasion after he has not seen said lady after three weeks?” Felicity looked at him with a raised brow, knowing full well that he saw her as a little sister. Ryan chuckled, “Fine you caught me. I’m having some fun, giving the ladies a little show. After all, Starling has been lacking some eye-candy these past three weeks I’ve been gone. They’ve been deprived of some sugar, so I decided to offer some dessert, “ he turned to Felicity, smoothing his hand over his hair, giving her a wink.

She giggled and proceeded to ask him about the wedding. Granted Felicity wasn’t really listening, as she was looking out the window at the passing buildings, only giving brief one word answers when the moment called for it. Her mind was otherwise occupied, thinking of the past few weeks that led to what would be her new life, surrounded by music.

…

 _Felicity walked the halls of Starling Prep, just like any other day. But this morning, she was uncomfortably aware of all the stares directed at her, accompanied by the whispers of her fellow peers. Hugging her binder closer to her chest, Felicity looked down and walked to her locker as quickly as she could._ _  
_

 

“Is that her?”   “The back of her head looks kinda similar to the one in the video.”

“Who knew she could sing like that?”   “She has such a beautiful voice.”

“Dude, she’s hot!”   “Shut up, Bryan! I’m right here!”  “Oh… uh… sorry, babe…”

 

_The last comment made Felicity stop and look up at her locker. They couldn’t possibly be talking about her, right?_

_“Felicity!” Alena ran up to her locker and grabbed her arm. “Did you see it yet? I’m sorry, but I needed to do it. But seriously, did you see it? Or more importantly,_ who _saw it?!”_

_“Slow down. Now what are you going on about?”_

_“I sorta, kinda, may have done something, and you may kill me for it, but you’ll love me for it after. Come on, I’ll show you!”_

_Alena was dragging Felicity’s arm away from her locker. Felicity barely had time to close her locker before asking, “Where are you taking me?”_

_“The computer lab. Now hurry up, before the bell rings!”_

_When they moved, another comment caught Felicity’s attention._

 

“Do you think he’s going to give her an invitation?”  “I doubt it, invitations are _rare_ , even more so at his school.”

 

_They continued to rush to the computer lab, where Alena proceeded to log on to a computer, open the YouTube server, and type something in the search bar. She clicked on the third video and pushed Felicity’s chair directly in front of the screen while she moved to the side. Felicity quickly turned to look at her friend and saw that she was eagerly looking at the screen, waiting for the video to start. She looked back to the screen, waiting to get whatever her friend wanted her to watch over with._

_Piano chords were sounding from the speakers and all Felicity could see were blonde curls piled messily on the back of a head, slight swaying of the person’s shoulders, the top of a piano, and glass windows peering into the greenery of a yard._

_When Felicity realized what she was watching, she froze. Her voice sounded throughout the room._

_“_ Sunday morning, rain is falling

 Steal some covers, share some skin

 Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable

 You twist to fit the mold that I am in”

 _She blinked slowly a few times, then quickly turned to her friend. “ALENA! What did you do?!” she yelled. Alena ignored her and continued to watch the video, completely enraptured. Felicity turned back to the computer screen and watched herself. Even though she couldn’t see her face, she knew that she was relaxed and completely at peace, confidently playing and singing her own rendition of_ Sunday Morning _by Maroon 5._

“Fingers trace your every outline

 Paint a picture with my hands

 Back and forth we sway like branches in a storm

 Change the weather, still together when it ends”

 _The two girls watched the video in silence, and Felicity was silently freaking out. How many people have seen this? How many of those people figured out it was her? Oh god, how many of those people_ knew _her? She could barely speak to people, how was she supposed to face anyone now without the mortification? What if people ignored her even more because she couldn’t sing well?_

“That may be all I need

 In darkness, she is all I see

 Come and rest your bones with me

 Driving slow on Sunday morning

 And I never want to leave

 Driving slow on Sunday morning

 And I never want to leave”

_The video ended and the screen turned black. Felicity once again turned to her so-called friend, “What. Did. You. Do?!”_

_Alena turned to Felicity sheepishly and smiled. “I- I just- I shared your talent, Felicity! You have a lovely voice and play beautifully! It was worthy of being shared on the internet, and look Felicity! People are in love with it, they are in love with you!” Felicity continued to blink at Alena in silence. “Seriously, look! I just uploaded this last night and you already have over two hundred thousand views!_ And _I think that is pretty impressive considering this is the first and only video on your channel.”_

_“Channel? What channel?” Felicity looked back to the computer screen and scrolled down to the description box, which indeed told Felicity that the video of herself singing and playing Sunday Morning had two hundred and twelve thousand views, a few thousand likes, and less than fifty dislikes._

_“SmoakinMelodies. I was in a rush and I couldn’t think of a better name. At least it sounds kinda cool and interesting.”_

_“Alena, it sounds like a euphemism for doing drugs.”_

_“Okay, well at least I didn’t go with the other option I had, SmoakAndFire. That sounded way too corny to me.”_

_“_ Or _you could have_ not _posted this video at all.” Felicity was mortified. She didn’t sing in front of people, hell she could barely even talk to people! At least the camera wasn’t directed toward her face and no one would recognize her easily._

_“You won’t say that after you look at the comments.” Alena had on a proud smile._

_“Why would I want to read a bunch of comments from people I don’t know, especially if they’re not nice?” Felicity looked down at her lap, “Do I really want to put myself through that?”_

_“If you want to see_ his _comment, then yes.”_

_“Who?”_

_“Mar- you won’t believe me if I tell you. Just look for yourself.”_

_Felicity took the mouse and scrolled down to the comments section. She expected the top comment to be someone asking who the person in the video was or if anyone knew who it was, but she didn’t think what she saw was real. It had to be a prank. There was no way that_ he _watched the video._

 _But there it was, the top comment. Left by the one and only_ Martin Stein. _As in the esteemed composer, owner of_ Firestorm Records _, the head of the School of Music at Starling Academy of Fine Arts.._

 _“_ What a lovely rendition. SmoakMelodies, you play the piano and sing beautifully. Please, contact me [through email preferably]. There is something I would like to discuss with you, hopefully about something that you would be interested in.” 

…

“ _Felicity!_ ”

Felicity knocked her head against the car window, startled out of her memory. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Ryan looked at her knowingly, with a hint of a smile. “I said that we’re home. Did you not listen to a thing I said the past ten minutes?”

“No, I was listening. I just… wasn’t comprehending.” Felicity tried her best to give him her best innocent smile, the one she knew he fell for ever since he first started as her security guard.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. Now get out of my car. Scram!”

“Trying to get rid of me so soon? How could you, after you said you got all suited up for me?” She feigned hurt, then gasped with excitement. “ _Do you have a hot date?!”_

Ryan threw a scrap of paper, presumably a crumpled receipt, at Felicity as she exited the car. “Ha-ha, very funny. There is just something I have to do before I go inside. Now scram, Bug.”

She smiled at the pet name, one of many Ryan’s called her over the years, “Love you, too.”

 

**\-------------------------------**

Felicity laid face down on her bed, her journal in front of her. She was still trying to think of lyrics for her next song, which had to be completed within the next month, and she still had no clue as to why. After emailing Martin Stein back and forth a few times, she was just told to have a song ready. An original was not required, but Felicity wanted to prove to herself and whoever would be listening to her that she was good, that she belonged at the Academy.

Her bedroom door opened and Ryan popped his head through. He pushed the door open wider with one hand behind his back. Felicity tilted her head and gave him a questioning look. “What do you have there?”

Ryan walked further into her room, until he was in front of her at the foot of her bed. He produced a bouquet of flowers from behind him and smiled. “Did my errand. Congrats, Doll. Why didn’t you tell me about the invitation to Starling Academy sooner?”

Felicity blushed. She sat up and graciously took the bouquet, smelling the lilies. “How did you hear about that?”

“I may be older than you, but I’m not _that_ old either. There’s only a decade between us. I use the internet and social media on a daily basis. I can’t believe you were on the trending page.”

Felicity groaned. “I still think that I should take the video down.”

“Don’t. It’s good. You’re good. I’m so proud of you, Bug. Now, where is that invitation? I didn’t believe Donna when she told me about it when she handed me a schedule change. And I still don’t believe it.”

Felicity flopped onto her stomach to reach over her bed to get the thick envelope from her nightstand. She paused before handing it over to Ryan, “Schedule change?”

“Yeah, since you won’t be living here anymore, but at the dorms on campus, I don’t have to drive you back home everyday anymore. But that doesn’t mean that you’re going anywhere without me, Kid.” He took the envelope from Felicity’s hand and slid the invitation out. “I can’t believe how grown up you are, going off to the best performing arts school on the West Coast. I still remember the first day I met you, when you immediately ran behind your mother’s legs when you saw me in the living room.”

Felicity smiled at the memory. “Yeah, I remember that day too. But I still have the urge to run behind something every time I see your ugly face.”

His face dropped at the insult and he lunged for the pillow on the side of the bed. He proceeded to hit Felicity with it, albeit not roughly. Felicity let out a scream that was intertwined with laughter, “Okay, okay! I’m sorry, you have a beautiful face! Uncle! Uncle!”

“You’re damn right, I do.” He chucked the pillow to the top of her bed, and turned to see that Felicity was looking at her journal with frustration and sadness. “What’s goin’ on in that pretty little head of yours?”

She took a deep breath and looked down at her lap, suddenly interested in the loose threads on her covers. “I’m stuck on this song I’m writing for Stein and I can’t think of lyrics that sound good for the chorus.” She swallows, her voice growing soft and vulnerable, “What if it’s because I’m not good enough?”

Ryan sat down next to her and pulled her into his embrace, kissing the top of her head. “You haven’t been working on it for long, if I’ve noticed correctly. And you are good enough, you’re so talented, Felicity. You wouldn’t have gotten an invitation to Starling Academy, a rare occurrence, if I may add, if you weren’t good enough. And besides, how can you not be good when you learned from the best, aka yours truly.”

…

_Felicity tossed and turned in her bed. She was having trouble sleeping in her new bed, in her new big house. She got up from her bed. Maybe if she walked around her new house for a little bit, she’d be more comfortable and tire herself out at the same time. Felicity quietly stepped out of her bedroom and into the hallway, trying to remember which way to turn to go down the stairs._

_When she was halfway down the staircase, she heard a soft melody coming from behind the door of the music room. She didn’t know why her parents insisted on having a music room, it’s not like any of them knew how to play any instrument. Well, maybe the triangle but her parents weren’t going to dedicate a full room to a triangle._

_Felicity walked toward the room and opened the door to peek in. Someone was playing the piano. She tried to open the door further as quietly as possible as to not alert whoever was playing that she was there. But her plan failed and the door squeaked. The person stopped playing and turned to the door. It was Ryan, her new body guard._

_Silver light lit the room, but he had to squint into the darkness behind the door. “Felicity? Is that you?”_

_She remained quiet but pushed the door open even more and stepped into the room. Felicity shyly walked toward him on the piano bench. “Pretty.”_

_“Thank you. Do you play?” She shook her head. “Do you want to learn? I can show you.” Ryan slid over on the bench to give her room. Felicity sat on the bench, but left room between her and Ryan, since he was still practically a stranger to her. “Are you awake enough to remember this?”_

_Felicity frantically nodded her head. She liked learning new things. “Yes, Sir.”_

_Ryan chuckled, “There’s no need to call me that, Kiddo. Ryan s’fine.” Felicity looked up at him and smiled her little shy smile and he smiled back. “Do you mind if I call you Kiddo, or do you only like Felicity?”_

_Felicity shrugged her shoulders. No one really called her anything else but Felicity besides her mom, who called her Baby or Baby Girl. “It’s okay.”_

_Ryan gave her a full smile and turned to the piano. “Okay, so you see these black keys? They are the flat and sharp keys on the piano. The ones that are grouped in twos are called chopsticks and the ones grouped in threes are called forks. You got that?” Felicity nodded. “The keys go in this order:_ CDEFGABC _. The white key on the left side of the chopsticks is C-”_

Felicity snapped out of her memories when she saw Ryan reach over for her journal. He flipped to the bookmarked page and laughed at the number of crossed out lines on the page. She dug her face into his chest and groaned. “Don’t laugh at my struggles, it’s not nice.”

Ryan climbed off the bed and stood up, causing Felicity to fall flat on her face and he chortled. He held his hand out to her, “C’mon, let’s go to the music room. We have some work to do.”


	2. Rumor Has It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a one-track-mind set on his acting career, Oliver has lost touch with all that is happening around him. When he gets caught up with what's going on and gets a taste of the rumor, he can't seem to get it out of his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for reading Attraction. Here's a taste of Oliver for you all. I promise that the two will meet soon! Oh! And what do you guys think about the song titles as chapter titles? Is it misleading to Oliver's and Felicity's respective art fields?

Sliding down in his seat, Oliver leaned his head back and groaned. After sitting in the theater for over six hours, he didn’t know how many more auditions he could watch and sit through. There were another twenty or so people still in front of him before he could audition for the lead role. _Stupid alphabetical order crap_.

Oliver knew that it was very unlikely that he would get to audition today. But the upside to that is that he would get a different scene. Based on how Digg was running the auditions and the cycle pattern, Oliver would be the first person to audition with the a new scene on the second set of auditions on the next day.

“All right, that’s a wrap for the day! I expect to see all of you tomorrow bright and early at seven a.m. for warm-ups! I don’t care if you already auditioned. You don’t show up, you don’t get a part! That’s how we do things here in my theater. _Respect_ your fellow actors and actresses. Dismissed!”

Oliver didn’t move from his seat or position even after the director’s dismissal of the class. He knew that he wouldn’t get in trouble for staying in the theater after hours, he spent a lot of time in here, either thinking or running lines. Oliver closed his eyes and sat there until he felt someone stand besides him.

“If you’re going to sleep, Oliver, you have a nice bed in the dorms for that.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, Sir. Just thinking.” Oliver opened his eyes and sat up. He looked to his right and saw famed director, retired actor, and his theatre professor, John Diggle, standing with his bag over his shoulder.

“About today’s auditions? And none of that ‘Sir’ crap, no one is here. It’s Digg or John."

“Sorry, John. Force of habit. And yeah, I was thinking of everyone’s auditions today. Pretty dry day today.”

John chuckled and crossed his ridiculously large arms over his chest. “Bold statement, Queen.”

Oliver quirked a brow at his professor. “If I didn’t have strong opinions or were scared to share them, you would have never asked me to work with you directly in and out of the theater.”

“Yes, I did ask you, yet you refuse to acknowledge it and sit next to me during these auditions,” John deadpanned.

Oliver shook his head, “Respect my fellow actors and actresses, remember? And if I earn any role in any production, I want to show everyone that it was because I worked hard for it, not because I was whispering things into your ear or because you were playing favorites.”

John smiled down at his pupil. “Noble. Did you really think all of the auditions today were bad?”

“I didn’t say they were bad, just dry. Too textbook. They need to add their own flare to the character.”

John slowly nodded his head in agreement. “What did you think about Allen?”

Racking his memory, Oliver tried to remember who John was talking about. The picture of a lanky boy on stage popped up in his mind. Despite himself, he answered honestly, “He was good, probably the best of the day. Still needs to work on a couple things, like his facial expressions, projection and annunciation, but he was good.”

John smirked down at Oliver, nodding his head. “For a kid whose primary is musical theatre, Barry seems like he’ll fit right in here too. Scared for a little competition?”

Oliver gave a little snort and smirked, “I’m sure his background in dance will help him in the action sequences if he gets a major role. And never. I’ve been told that I need to control my ego every now and then. Competition helps with that.”

John belted out a loud laugh. He let his arms down to his sides and walked up to Oliver and clapped him on the shoulder. “Lock up on your way out.”

“Running home to the Mrs.?”

“Yup. Lyla will have my ass if I don’t make it home for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, John began to walk to the foyer that led to the front exit.

Yelling across the auditorium, Oliver asked, “Do I get to know what scene I’ll be doing tomorrow?”

John kept walking, only turning his head, “What happened to getting the role fairly?”

Oliver smiled, “It was worth a shot. Tell Coach that I said hello and that I hope she’s doing well.” Lyla was their staging coordinator and stunt choreographer/coach but she’s been home for the past few months as she was pregnant with her and Digg’s first child, who was due in a few weeks.

“Will do!”

 

\-------------------------------

 

Oliver was lounging around in his bedroom in his and Tommy’s dorm when there was a sudden incessant knocking on his door. He groaned, “Go away, Tommy! I told you I don’t want to go to Fuller’s party!”

The knocking stopped. “It’s not Tommy.”

“Thea?”

She peeked her head through from behind the door with her eyes closed. “Is it safe to open my eyes?”

“Speedy, what do you mean? And yeah, you can open your eyes.”

Thea opened her eyes and perked up at seeing her big brother. Shrugging her shoulders, she answered, “I don’t know. One of my friends said that boys do yucky things in their rooms and she always closes her eyes when she goes in her brother’s room. I thought I should do the same because you’re a boy.”

“Speedy, you always barge into my room and you never close your eyes or see me doing anything ‘yucky’, right?” Oliver chuckled, knowing exactly what her friend was talking about. Luckily, he’s never been caught, waiting till he knew he was absolutely alone to do anything.

“Right. But I don’t know, you could have had a girl in here. You and Laurel used to kiss all the time and that was nasty.” Thea scrunched her face in disgust.

“Thea, I haven’t been with Laurel for a long time now, for two years. I haven’t been with anyone since I broke up with her.”

She made her way into his room and sat on her brother’s bed. “Oh yeah,” Thea replied drawing out the second word and made herself comfortable, swinging her legs back and forth.

“So, what did you want, Speedy?” Oliver prompted.

“Oh, right!” She turned to the bag still hanging on her side and pulled out her laptop. “Did you hear the rumor about an invitation being given?”

That information caught Oliver’s attention. He sat up straight in his black overstuffed club chair and looked directly at his little sister. “To which department? Actually, who _gave_ it? And do you know who it is?” Invitations were rarely given. In his eight years at the junior school and the Academy, Oliver knows that only two invitations have been given in that time span; to Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow. Students usually only got in by audition after applications have been looked through.

Thea giggled as she opened her laptop and logged on, “So many questions big brother. But I don’t know who she is. I think she’s going to be here under Stein’s department. Well that’s what all the whispers are saying at least. And the comment.”

“She got an invitation from _Stein_?!” It was hard enough to get into Starling Academy of Fine Arts through auditions, but to get an invitation to work directly with the most selective professor? This person must have been something else. “And what comment?”

Thea patted the space to her right to gesture to Oliver to sit next to her. Once he settled, she explained, “He left a comment on this video of a girl singing. He told her to email him so that they could discuss something. You seriously haven’t heard anything about this? Or watched the video? Everyone has been talking about it. She’s good.” Oliver gave her a ‘are you serious?’ look. “Oh that’s right, you don’t do anything or talk to anyone anymore. You just read lines.”

Oliver sighed and dragged his hand down his face. Thea wasn’t wrong. After their father’s incident two years ago, Oliver decided to turn his life around and become serious about his craft and along the way, Oliver’s social life disappeared. “What’s her name?”

“No one knows. Well I guess Stein and all the professors know, but none of the students know. We just call her by her channel name, ‘SmoakinMelodies’. She spelled Smoking wrong, but that’s not really important.” At the age of ten, Thea was in the phase where she loved to correct people and demonstrate that she was intelligent.

Oliver looked down fondly at her. “Just play the video, Speedy.” And with that, Thea clicked the play button.

The video started with the generic black introduction screen that stated _Sunday Morning: A SmoakinMelodies’ rendition. Enjoy!_ It then transitioned to the scene of a girl playing the piano, her back facing the camera. It was clear that she didn’t know that she was being recorded. She began to play and Oliver could tell that she was good just based on how relaxed she seemed to be. And then she opened her mouth and _sang_.

Oliver didn’t know what to expect, but even then, he wasn’t expecting _this_.

He wasn’t really listening to the lyrics, he didn’t need to. Everyone knew this song. All he heard was her voice as it filled the silence of his room. It was beautiful. Her voice had an angelic and calming quality to it. It wrapped around Oliver like a warm hug. He was captivated by her, staring at her back on the screen, listening to her sing. Oliver was enraptured and he didn’t know who this person was or what she looked like.

It was as if the piano was following the lead of her voice, instead of her following the notes she played. Her voice could have been an instrument all on its own. If Oliver didn’t know any better, he’d call her a siren and would gladly listen to her song that led him to his doom.

_Driving slow on Sunday morning, and I never want to leave_

The piano and her voice faded out as the video ended. Damn right, Oliver didn’t want her to leave. He was still staring at the screen when Thea’s voice pulled him out of his trance, “Ollie?” She waved her hand in front of his face.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, Speedy. I must have spaced out.”

She frowned, “Did you even watch the video?”

“Yeah, I did. She was- her voice- it was, uh… it was good.” Oliver wasn’t going to let his sister really see how affected he was by the girl’s singing. He knew that Thea would get the idea that he was interested in the girl. And he didn’t want that. Girls equaled distraction, which equaled not being focused on acting. And Oliver couldn’t afford that, not after he promised his family and himself that he would settle down and be serious about what he was doing. To prove that he could be worth something to be proud of.

It’s not that Thea would be disappointed in him or upset if he did like someone. It’s just that she would tease him about it, being eight years younger than him, and then tell their parents all about it because she tells them everything. And that would cause his parents to be skeptical about how seriously he was taking things due to his history of fooling around with girls and partying.

“If she really does come here, will you take me to the Showcase? I want to see her perform live.” The Showcase was an event that the music and dance departments put on every year a couple months into the school year to get the students pumped up to work. It was something that was usually exclusive to the older students because of how late the event ran, but the younger students from the junior school could attend if they had an older student from the Academy vouch for them.

Although Oliver stopped attending the Showcase after his first time there, he found himself agreeing, “Sure, Speedy. I’ll take you if she comes here.” He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and read that it was fifteen till ten p.m. “Shoot, it’s almost your curfew. C’mon, I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”

 

\-------------------------------

 

Despite his refusal to go to the party that Max Fuller was throwing, Oliver found himself walking towards the warehouse that it was being held at, which was a few blocks away from the junior dorms, where he bade Thea good night.

Even from a block away, Oliver could hear the music thumping and the elated voices of partygoers. As he walked closer to the warehouse, Oliver couldn’t help but to remember the fateful day two years ago that made him straighten himself out.

 

…

 

_Oliver was lounging on the couch in the common room of the dormitories with a girl under each of his arms and a beer in his right hand. He was watching the guys on the other side of the room, drunk out of their minds, making complete fools of themselves._

_The girl on his right side, Helen he thinks, began sucking at the skin where his neck met his jaw and bit down. Oliver smirks and tilts his head a little more to the left to give her more access. Noticing the other girl’s actions, the chick under his left arm, Isabel he believes, snuggles closer into his side and runs her finger down his chest, whispering dirty thoughts into his ear. He chuckles, then his phone starts ringing._

_The girls stop what they’re doing at look up at him with hooded eyes. “Don’t stop, just ignore it, I’m sure it’s not important.” His phone goes silent and the girls go back to their ministrations. Oliver turns his head to Helena, he remembers, and is about to kiss her when his phone goes off again. “Damn it!”_

_He took the phone out of his pocket and silenced it. “Now, where were we?” Oliver settles back down on the couch and Helena immediately straddles his lap. She gives him a sensual smile and leans down to kiss him. She captures his lips and takes his bottom lip between her teeth. As the desire intensifies between him and the sexy brunette on his lap, he could hear Isabel’s frustration from being left out. He smiles as he pulls away from Helena and turns to Isabel to give her a little attention._

_Oliver was so focused on the pleasure he was getting from Isabel’s kisses and Helena grinding down on him that he didn’t see Tommy approach him with his phone in his hand or hear the door to the building open and slam shut. He was so lost in the pleasure that he wasn’t aware of the presence behind the three of them until he felt a sharp pain on the top of his head. He jumped up from the couch, causing Helena to fall from his lap._

_“Ow! What the fu-” Oliver turned around, expecting to see some jealous guy from their dorm, staring at him with rage, but saw his best friend’s face mixed with frustration and franticness. “Tommy? What’s wrong?”_

_Tommy took a deep breath and wiped the stray tear falling down his cheek. “Where the fuck is your phone and why the hell aren’t you answering it? You have a phone for a reason, you ass. Do you know how many fucking times I’ve tried to call and text you in the last five minutes?!”_

_“I- I was-” Oliver turned around to retrieve his phone from the table and turned it on. Twenty-two missed calls from his mom, eighteen missed calls and twelve unread messages from Thea, and fifteen missed calls and ten voicemails from Tommy. “Sorry, I was… distracted… What happened? What’s wrong?”_

_Oliver turned back to Tommy to find him glaring at the two girls still sitting on the couch. The two girls got up from the couch and scurried out to the back patio. Tommy turned to Oliver, still glaring. “If you answered your phone twenty minutes ago, you would know, wouldn’t you?”_

_Oliver had the audacity to give Tommy a sheepish look and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m here now. What happened?”_

_“Your mom called me after she couldn’t get through to you. She called to tell me to get you and pick up Thea from her friend’s house and meet her at Starling General.”_

_Oliver immediately stood up straight. “Starling General? Damn it, Tommy! Just tell me what the fuck is going on, already!”_

_“It’s your dad. Raisa found him on the ground in his study, unconscious. His breaths were really shallow.” Tommy tried to swallow down the fresh tears that were threatening to come out._

_“What happened to my dad? Is he okay?”_

_“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything from your mom since I’ve been trying to call you. But,” Tommy began to choke out the last sentence, “but your dad had a stroke. I’m sorry, Ollie.”_

_Oliver didn’t hear anything else that came out of Tommy’s mouth or anything from the people around them. He stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Without thinking, his legs began to move and he moved to the door without looking back._

_Tommy called out to him, “Where are you going?”_

_Still not looking back, Oliver said, “To go get Thea. You drive, I don’t think I should be driving right now. I don’t even know if I could.” He knew that his best friend would go to the hospital with them. Tommy was basically their brother. He was always with them at the manor and had his own room after his mother died when they were younger. Oliver’s parents essentially raised Tommy as their own, which was why he was so affected by this._

_“I don’t know if I should be driving either, but okay. Let’s go.”_

 

…

 

Oliver was still haunted by the voicemails he listened to from Thea that he played in the car. They were all a variation of her crying to him, asking him where he was and what was going on and saying that she was scared.

Before he knew it, Oliver was in front of the warehouse, where he knew Tommy would be. Walking in, he was immediately assaulted with flashing lights, stuffy air from all the body heat, the thumping of loud music, and the mingling smell of drugs and alcohol.

As soon as he got in, he was handed a red solo cup. Knowing better than to refuse it to only be offered another one a few seconds later, Oliver just took the cup, giving the person a nod in acknowledgement. He wasn’t going to drink it. This wasn’t his scene anymore. No drinking, no girls, no partying. Nothing. He was only here to check up on Tommy.

It took Oliver a few minutes to find his best friend. He was leaning against a wall and was talking to someone, who Oliver couldn’t see clearly. He got closer to the two at the wall and was able to make out who Tommy was talking to, which made Oliver stop in his tracks. Tommy was talking to Laurel, as in his ex-girlfriend, whom he cheated on throughout the course of their relationship.

Oliver knew better than to feel upset about his best friend flirting with his ex, he was the one who ended their relationship for good and gave Tommy the okay to pursue her, after all. He just couldn’t help but feel guilty about all the crap he put her through and genuinely believed that they should have never gotten together in the first place. Oliver wished that Laurel never fell for his charms, wished that Tommy could have always been the one for her in the beginning. He wished that he could have done better to please his parents than by bringing home a girl that they thought would be good for him and hurting her in the process by constantly cheating.

Shaking his head, as if to clear it, Oliver turned and set the untouched drink down on a nearby table. Tommy was clearly fine. And if anything were to happen, Laurel would take care of him. She could watch out for him, he knew she would.

It wasn’t that Oliver couldn’t handle seeing or talking to Laurel. It was just that things between them were still kind of awkward, even after two years. A couple months after their break up, when Oliver was becoming serious about acting, Laurel approached him with the idea of getting back together. She was still holding on to the life she had planned out for them, the perfect fairytale from her dreams; where she planned out what she wanted Oliver’s life to look like, picturing something he could never fit into.

And while Oliver felt guilty about not seeing how his best friend felt for her, he was glad that they were connecting. They were truly perfect for each other. He wasn’t going to lie and say that it wasn’t awkward, his best friend and ex-girlfriend, but they were happy and that’s all Oliver ever wanted. He turned and walked back out from the door he came through.

 

\-------------------------------

 

Oliver once again found himself walking with no destination in mind, wandering around the campus. Even when he was thinking of nothing in particular, Oliver couldn’t get the sound of _her_ voice out of his head. And it was driving him insane.

In the two years that Oliver turned himself around, he wasn’t phased by pretty girls or anything for that matter. He didn’t let himself get distracted. It was only him and the stage. He couldn’t afford anymore fuck-ups that caused his parents more stress than what they already had on their plates. Oliver blamed himself for his father’s stroke. Robert Queen had to deal with all that came with being CEO of Queen Consolidated and on top of that, deal with his troublesome son who had no idea what he wanted to do in life aside from partying.

Oliver knew that his parents wanted him to take over the company one day, when they decided to step down, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He couldn’t handle the responsibility that came with it.

When his parents decided to have him go to Starling Academy, they hoped that it would culture him. At that point in his life, he wasn’t skilled, he wasn’t talented. His parents bought his way in by donating a new theater to the school. Oliver didn’t begin to show interest in any of the arts until his early teenage years when he saw that the theatre department had lots of pretty girls in it.

But that wasn’t him anymore. Oliver knew that he had a privileged life and that he ought to make his parents proud for all that they’ve given and done for him and his sister.

Before he realized where he was, Oliver found himself outside of a door. Looking around, he realized that he was in the music building on the top floor, where his secret hideout was.

When people wanted to find Oliver, they usually went looking in the dormitories, the theater, or for Tommy. But when he wanted to be alone, he came up to the music studio that he found unused in his second year at the Academy. He assumed that it wasn’t used due to its small size and the fact that it wasn’t as equipped as the studios on the floors below. But Oliver didn’t mind, he appreciated the privacy and found that it was enough for him.

His interest in music wasn’t well known. Thea knew that he used his creative license and dabbled in art fields outside of theatre. But she didn’t know of the depth of his interest in music and producing tracks. Granted, Oliver wasn’t spectacular at it, but he liked blending beats together and the sound that came out of it.

Walking into the room, Oliver moved toward the piano. He froze in his tracks and pictured a faceless blonde behind the bench playing the keys and singing. He blinked repeatedly and she disappeared. Oliver let a sigh fall from his lips and sat down at the bench. He pulled the cover off of the keys and stared at them.

“What the hell are you doing, Oliver?” he whispered. “You don’t even know how to play.” He set his fingers down on the keys and the silence was broken by the jumbled sound of eight different keys being pressed down on.

Hanging his head down, Oliver spoke to himself once more, “One more time. That’s it. No more distractions.” Pulling out his phone, Oliver opened the YouTube app and clicked the search bar.

He pressed on her video and smiled as her voice flooded from his phone. When it was over, he found himself pressing replay and listening to her again, and again.

Oliver had found his Siren, and couldn’t help but follow her to his doom. 


	3. Overwhelming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity faces a few bumps in the road while transitioning into her start at Starling Academy of Fine Arts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to learn a little more about Felicity before she starts her first day at the Academy! And I'm so sorry for the late update! I was surprised by my boyfriend with a vacation to Istria, Croatia. All I can say is that it was beautiful! But now I'm back and slightly jet lagged. And as always, thank you for reading and enjoy!

“Call and text me! At least once a week!” Alena hollered as she walked out the front door of Felicity’s house to the car in the driveway where her mom was waiting. 

“I will! As soon as I get settled in, I promise!” Felicity shouted back from the front steps of her home. She stood there waving her friend goodbye until the car disappeared from the driveway of the Kuttler-Smoak estate. 

Walking back into the house, Felicity slowly trekked up the stairs to her almost-bare room. She wanted to savor the familiarity of the path she was taking. After living at the estate for almost seven years, Felicity no longer paid attention to the knick-knacks or pictures that lined the walls. Taking one step at a time, Felicity walked up the stairs to admire the pictures her mom chose to hang on the wall.

A majority of the pictures were of Felicity during different times in her life; baby pictures, first days of school, random captured moments during a family vacation or while she was playing. The other pictures consisted of her and her parents, her grandparents, moments from her parents’ wedding, and some of her and Ryan. 

Felicity stopped on a step near the top of the staircase. There were a few pictures clustered together that made her smile. The first of the bunch was from a photo-shoot in a field somewhere. Felicity must have been four or five years old. Her face was full of delight as she was gripping her parents’ hands as they were swinging her. The second picture showed Felicity grinning, smearing the frosting of a cupcake on Ryan’s face while he was giving her a piggyback ride. The third picture was Felicity’s absolute favorite. It was a candid of her and Ryan on the bench behind the piano in the music room. Felicity has just begun to get the hang of the instrument, and she was looking down at the keys so seriously in concentration and Ryan was proudly smiling down at her. 

Felicity made a mental note to ask her mom for a copy of the third picture and took the last few steps, making her way over to her bedroom to see if she had forgotten to pack anything and to begin bringing  boxes down to the truck her parents rented to move her belongings. 

She froze in her tracks at the entryway, seeing her father stand there in the middle of her room. “Dad? What are you doing?” He didn’t answer her. His back was turned to her, gazing around her room with his arms crossed over his chest. She took a hesitant step into her room, “Dad?”

Not saying a word, Noah continued, taking his time to look around her room. He finally turned to face her general direction, but still stayed silent. Felicity stared at him for what felt like hours, but was in actuality only a few minutes, trying to read her father’s current state. She wasn’t as adept as her mother when it came to the man and his emotions, but spending a majority of her life around him meant that she knew a few things. Felicity’s attempts to read him were rendered unnecessary when he finally opened his mouth. 

“When I first saw this house, before I even bought it, I knew that this would be your room. Ever since we lived in that apartment on the edge of downtown, hell even back in the apartment in Vegas, you always went on and on, talking about how you would one day buy a nice house with a big backyard that you would fill with pretty flowers, and then backtrack and say that you would only line the edges of the yard with plants because the animals you rescued needed space to roam.” Noah finally looked his daughter in the eyes and huffed out a laugh. He walked over to the other side of the room and looked out the bay window with his hands behind his back. 

“Walking into this room, I imagined a workshop where you could tinker around with different parts and I could teach you new things. But then I walked to this window and I knew that you’d fall in love with this view. You wouldn’t be able to have your rescue animals because of how the grounds were landscaped, but you would have your fill of flowers and greenery and more. I turned from the window, and suddenly this room wasn’t a workshop anymore. I saw your things strewn all around the room, the walls lined with posters of your favorite shows and movies, and then your bed over there.” Still looking outside, he sat down on the window sill. 

Felicity wasn’t expecting her father to be emotional about her leaving the house. She knew her father was a rational man and knew that he knew that he could drive twenty minutes to see her, or that she could make the same drive back home. Did she misread the evening when her father stood and left the dinner table when she showed them the invitation? Did he never talk to her about it or mention it because he couldn’t bear to think that she would leave them? 

“And when I bought it, your mother insisted on decorating your room, even though I knew that you would ask to change it as soon as you saw it.” Noah smiled to himself, “‘Mom, Dad, I’m too old for princesses and unicorns. I don’t like pink or glitter. And the white carpet is going to get dirty really fast if I bring Dad’s tools and computer parts in here.’ You were so  blasé, about the room and telling us that you were planning on taking my things in here even though you knew that you weren’t allowed to.” 

_ Where the hell is he going with all of this?  _

“I was so happy. KI was doing very well and I was able to provide for you and your mother, I bought your mother the house she dreamed of and it came with a yard that you yearned for. You’ve been going to the best schools your whole life, including the best private school in Starling. And I can do all of that because of the stability of KI and my success in the tech world.” He turned to look Felicity in the eye once again. “How can you do any of this, live a stable life and want for nothing, if you’re out there, in an industry run by sharks profiting off of your success, while they just sit around, controlling everything you do? I don’t understand.” He dropped his head into his hands, elbows resting on his knees. Muttering into his hands, he whispered, “How can you betray me like this?”

At her father’s last words, Felicity’s back straightened.  _ Did he really believe all of this? Is this why he never talked about it? Was he even proud of her?  _ “Dad, what the  _ hell _ are you talking about?”

Noah looked up from his hands with distress written all over his face and abruptly stood up, walking straight towards his daughter. He threw his arms out, gesturing to the room, “I gave you all of this! Everything you’ve ever wanted. I put you into the best schools so that you could get into MIT or Virginia Tech or CalTech, to work with me at the company and then eventually take over as CEO! Not so you could become some, some  _ damn show pony _ ! What’s going to happen if you go to that damn school, and then you can’t make it in the real world? Huh?! What are you going to do then? Walk around Hollywood asking if anyone is looking for a pretty face or talent until you get picked up?” He took a step closer to Felicity, his voice much softer. “You were on track to being accepted into MIT’s early admittance program and on a full scholarship. Why would you throw all of that away, Felicity?”

Felicity took a step back, away from her father. She looked up to the ceiling and huffed out in exasperation. Of course all of this wasn’t because her father would miss her; it was all because she would be straying from what he had planned for her. “Thanks for your vote of confidence, Dad. I’m sure I only got an invitation to the Academy due to pure luck, not because I’m good at music or have potential or anything.” Shaking her head, Felicity walked over to the pile of boxes near her bed. She needed to do one last check to make sure she had everything she needed before Ryan took them to the truck, but her mind was too occupied at the moment. 

She turned to look at her father, “And what right do you have to tell me, what nerve you must have, to talk to me about executives profiting off of my work?! Sure, Dad; you started the company, it was founded on your ideas and built it up from there. But in the last five or so years, can you honestly tell me that you developed or personally worked on any of the projects that KI has produced and sold? Did you sit in with the engineers and medical technicians during project proposals? Did you work alongside them on prototypes? Did you go to the industrial factories and work with the factory line to assemble parts?” Felicity stepped closer to her father, her voice turning sour. “ Oh, I’m sorry. I mean, did you fly overseas to China, to work with the people there, where labor is cheaper and quicker?! Or did you just sit in your nice office on the top floor, in designer suits, reading summaries and digests that your secretary placed on your desk, focusing on the page where the budget and projected profits are listed?! No, Dad. I don’t  _ want  _ that, I don’t  _ approve _ of any of that!

And what do you mean betray you? Have you ever asked me if I was happy, Dad? Truly happy? Or have you ever noticed that I only have one friend and that I don’t go out a lot? Yeah, yeah, I know, you always talked about how people like you and me don’t need a lot of friends to have a good time, but Dad, I’m a teenage girl, I’m supposed to experience all of these things. For crying out loud, my best friend is a twenty-seven year old man, who is my bodyguard! Don’t you see anything unusual about that?!

And yeah, I’m good with computers and experimenting with tech. But what if I’m really good at music too? I know that I could make a difference with you, revolutionizing the tech world, and inspire young girls and women to venture into STEM. But I really think, no, I know that I could inspire millions of boys, girls, men, and women through music, my music. Technology is only so accessible. With music, you only need to be around a radio or someone could simply be playing a little tune on the street. Tech is made for a certain demographic, but  _ everyone  _ listens to music, Dad. You even turn on the radio some days in the workshop. Well, back when you used the workshop.”

Felicity let out a heavy sigh and looked down at her feet. “Fifteen years of my life, eighty-eight percent of my life, was spent following you around and doing whatever I thought pleased you.” She slowly faced her father, with a confident yet placating look. “Don’t you think it’s time I do something I want?” 

With a blank look on his face, Noah challenged, “And if I don’t let you?”

Felicity crossed her arms, shifting her weight onto her left leg. “I’m almost eighteen. I can wait a couple months, I’ll be a few months late into the school year, but I’ve been told that I’m a fast learner.” 

It was his turn to let out a frustrated sigh. Noah plopped down into Felicity’s desk chair and dragged his hand down his tired face. “One year.”

“What?”

He leaned back into the chair, “You get one year. Prove to me that you can be as successful in the music industry as you would in the tech industry.”

Felicity turned to the open doorway, hearing faint footsteps, and turned back to her father. “Prove you how?”

“The Starling Academy of Fine Arts means nothing to me. You have one year to get into any of the top art or music universities. I don’t care if the Academy provides post-secondary level education for the arts. If you’re going to reject offers from the best tech schools, I expect you to get into the top music programs outside of Starling. Or if you’re really that good, get a record deal with whoever it was that offered you that invitation. If you can’t do either, you’re going to MIT, no complaints. I have connections there, I can get you back in, even if it’s too late to accept their offer. That’s my deal.”

Before Felicity could answer, Ryan appeared at the doorway of her bedroom and knocked to announce his appearance. “The truck is ready to be packed. We should get it going if we want to be settled by dinner.”

 

\-------------------------------

 

Sitting in the passenger seat of the rental truck, Felicity pondered the deal her father gave her.  _ How the hell am I supposed to do either of those things in less than a year _ ? She knew that he gave her a year, but that wouldn’t be realistic if Felicity decided to take the college route. Applications for schools like Juilliard, Columbia, and NYU were due around December and January, which wouldn’t give her much time to hone her skills, despite playing piano for almost seven years. Felicity knew that she could work towards a record deal with Stein in the year she was given, but she wanted to go to school, learn more, and experience college. 

Ryan startled her out of her thoughts. “So, you want to tell me what that was between you and your dad back there?” 

Felicity turned her head to look at him, wondering if he was serious. “Really? You couldn’t hear any of that from the hallway? Or you know, from right outside my door?”

He chuckled, “Bits and pieces don’t give me the whole story. And besides, you know I always want to know what’s going in that brilliant head of yours, Bug.”

Felicity continued to look at her bodyguard, before turning her body away from the window so that she could face him. “Dad doesn’t want me to go to the Academy. I don’t understand how or why, but he thinks I’m betraying him or something. God, the male psyche and need for control is absurd.” 

An offended look formed on Ryan’s face. “Hey! I’ll have you know that not all men are like that. And my need for control has kept you safe these past six- almost seven- years.”

“Protect me from what? The scary monsters in my closet? From writing too much and getting arthritis? ” Felicity teased. “Oh! From boys asking me out?”

“From destroying innocent musical equipment,” he deadpanned. 

She gasped in offense. “That was not my fault! You blindfolded me and then abruptly took it off after half an hour, I was disoriented!” 

“Felicity, you walked right into that brand new guitar. With an obnoxiously large red bow on it. And then proceeded to knock over your keyboard.” 

“Okay, look…”

Ryan dramatically leaned towards her, but still kept his eyes on the road. “I’m looking. What am I waiting for?” he teased.

“A girlfriend? Someone to find you attractive?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

His face immediately dropped. “Plenty of women find me attractive! I-I am man candy! Everyone wants a piece of this, “ Ryan gestured to his body with his right hand. “God, why do I still work for you? Your family doesn’t pay me enough for this.”

“Uhh, you get better pay than the other members of security at KI? And you get a room at the estate and free food? And the CT6? And-”

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

“And because you love me.” She finished as if she hadn’t been interrupted.

He let out a defeated sigh, “That I do. I don’t know why with all the bullying you do, but I find that I do.”

Felicity gave him a genuine smile, “I love you, too.” 

“Okay, no more of this off-topic, mushy-gushy crap.” He put both hands back on the wheel and pulled off of the freeway. “Why did he think you were betraying him?”

She curled into a ball on the seat. “I really don’t know. He just went on and on about how he has provided everything for me and Mom, which is true, but I don’t know how that led to betrayal. I think he was just upset that I wasn’t really following the plan he had set for me since I was little.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

Felicity looked down into her lap, thinking for an answer. “I mean, I feel a little guilty, yeah. He really has given me the best opportunities anyone could have, but I want to make a name for myself, you know? I don’t want to live in his shadow, always being addressed as Noah’s daughter, the one to continue the legacy.”

“Well, you two do have different last names.”

“Okay, well that doesn’t really matter. Everyone still knows who I am. I want to earn positions on my own, not because daddy-dearest is paying people off to give me an advantage. Not that I need it, but it doesn’t help that everyone at Kuttler Industry will do anything to gain my father’s favor.”

“Okay, but you want to tell me what that deal thing was about?”

Felicity let out a long and loud groan. “I really don’t understand how he thinks any of his deal is feasible. I mean, I’m definitely going to try to achieve one of them, because I really want to. But he wants me to either get into a top fine arts school that isn’t the Academy or get a record deal at Firestorm Records in a year. If I can’t do either, I have to go to MIT.”

Ryan made a left turn and Felicity saw banners that advertised the Academy hanging from the street lamps. “And how do you plan on doing either of those?”

Felicity took her bottom lip in between her teeth, unsure of her answer. “Well, I could get close to Stein and show him that I’m serious and dedicated, and that I’m good enough. As for the colleges, I really don’t know. I have the academic background and perfect SAT and ACT scores, but what do I have to show for the arts? I don’t have much to show aside from casually playing the piano and acoustic guitar.”

Ryan remained silent for a minute. “Did you end up taking down your channel?”

“No. Alena gave me the account information, but I haven’t done anything with it yet. Why?” 

“Post more videos. Maybe some originals too. Spread your name and talent. Everyone knows what YouTube is and has access to it. If everyone reacts to your voice the way they did with the  _ Sunday Morning  _ cover, imagine how they’d react to originals. If it grabbed Stein’s attention, I’m sure those school officials would have seen it too.” 

“Do you think my stuff is good enough for that? And what if I can’t write enough originals?”

“I know that your songs will be great, Doll. And if you find yourself stuck on songwriting, you can always ask me for help, you know that. Or if there are requests to do covers of songs in the comments, do that.” He pulled the truck to a stop in front of an impressive colonial building. Ryan pressed on the comm in his right ear. “Lawton. Turner. Make sure the path is clear and check that the room is ready. The Package has arrived.”

Felicity huffed. “The Package has a name, you know.”

Ryan shook his head in feigned annoyance. “We have codes, you know. Now c’mon, let’s go get you moved in and settled down before dinner starts in the dining hall.”

Before she opened the door, Felicity asked, “Where are you gonna go? And what are you eating for dinner? I doubt that they’ll feed you for free too.” 

“Floyd, Turner and I are going to go return the truck and then go grab a bite at Big Belly Burger. Then I’m gonna take my car from Floyd. And since I can’t do my job if I live back at the estate, your parents rented a condo across the street for me.”

“You’re going to Big Belly without me? Can I come?”

“No can do, Lil’ Lady. Promised your ma that I would make sure that you would surround yourself with the other students and make new friends,” he smirked.

Felicity gasped in outrage. “Y-you can’t! You know that I don’t like people! I can’t talk to people, Ryan! I’m going to babble and then dig myself in a hole and then everyone is going to wonder why the hell I’m there or if I went to the wrong building. And then they’re going to tell me that the mental facility is actually down the road! Ryannn, don’t leave me here!” 

“Sorry. Darlin’, you know I can’t break a promise, especially to your ma. C’mon, let’s get a move on it.”

“Ugh, you suck.” She glared at her bodyguard, “You better bring me something.”

 

\-------------------------------

 

It was five till five-forty-five p.m. when Felicity finally plopped down onto her new bed for the school year. Ryan and the other two security guards left her dorm almost an hour ago, leaving her to place everything how she wanted. She plucked her phone off the nightstand, where she had placed a lamp and a framed copy of the picture of her and Ryan. 

Felicity clicked her phone on and opened Snapchat. Taking a picture of her dorm room, she sent it to Alena, telling her that she was in a single dorm and that she was settled in. Almost five seconds later, she was receiving a request for a video chat from said friend. Felicity showed her around her spacious dorm room and her amazing view of the Starling Bay. 

Not long into their conversation, there was a knock on Felicity’s door. “Hold on Alena, I think that’s Ryan with my Big Belly Buster and chocolate shake.” She took her phone with her to the door, intending for her friend and bodyguard to greet each other over the phone. Felicity pulled the door open and was met by someone who was definitely not Ryan.

“Hi! You must be the new student here at Starling Academy! My name is Caitlin Snow, and I live in the dorm right next door with my roommate, Sara Lance. I just wanted to let you know that the dining hall opens for dinner in about fifteen minutes, at six o’clock sharp.” 

Felicity blinked at the stranger for a few seconds before remembering her manners. “I’m sorry, give me one second.” She closed her door and walked back in to put her shoes on. Felicity brought her phone up to face her friend, “Sorry, Alena, looks like dinner is starting soon. I gotta go, but I’ll call you or text you when I can.” 

“Oh, alright. I’ll talk to you soon, I guess.”

Felicity ended the call, walked back to the door, and opened it. “I’m sorry about that. Hi, Caitlin. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Smoak. Well, no, it’s Felicity. But, uh, well, technically, Smoak is my name, it’s just my last name. I wasn’t trying to go for a James Bond vibe. I really don’t know why I said my last name is my first name. Sometimes my brain doesn’t know how to work with my mouth and then I sound ridiculous. Oh my god, we’ve talked for less than ten seconds and I’m already babbling and screwing this up. I swear, I don’t belong in a mental hospital!” 

Her new neighbor looked quite overwhelmed and confused as to how to answer her equally overwhelmed and flustered self. Felicity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Let’s try this again.” She stuck her arm out, “Hi, my name is Felicity Smoak. I’m new here and I’ll be joining the music department as of tomorrow.”

Taking her outstretched hand, her neighbor reintroduced herself with a smile, “Hello, my name is Caitlin Snow, your neighbor. I’m in the theatre orchestra, which is a division supervised by both the theatre and music schools.” Caitlin looked down at her wrist to check the time. “Dinner will start soon. Would you like me to show you the way? I would also gladly give you a tour of the Academy while there is still light out, after dinner.” 

“That would be greatly appreciated, thank you.” Making sure she had her lanyard with her dorm key, Felicity looked down at her chest and then closed the door behind her.

 

\-------------------------------

 

After dinner and her brief but informative tour of the Academy, Felicity took it upon herself to explore the music building a little more before she had to be back in her dorm at a reasonable time to shower and go to bed. 

Felicity found herself wandering on each floor until she made it to the top floor. Most of the doors in the building were locked and were only accessible by a student identification card, which was something she wouldn’t receive until tomorrow morning. She admired the signed posters of artists that attended the Academy on the wall, trying to see if any of the doors opened along the way. Felicity made her way along the hallway, until she reached the end where there was only one room left. Not seeing a card reader, she pushed down on the door handle, hoping that the door knob wasn’t locked. And surprisingly, it wasn’t.

Felicity moved her hand along the wall, trying to feel for a light switch. After finding it and turning it on, she found herself in a decent sized music room/recording studio. From what she could tell, it wasn’t as equipped or spacious as the studios on the lower floors, but it was still more than Felicity could have ever hoped for in her house. To her left was a recording studio and producing board with many switches, knobs, and keys. Felicity was definitely curious and wanted to press a few buttons here and there, but she was scared that someone had some work saved on there that she could possibly screw up.

Turning to the right side of the room, she lit up a little. There was a glossy baby grand sitting near the corner of the room, with a few guitars lined up on a stand against the wall. But what really caught Felicity’s attention was the view outside the window behind the piano. She was already amazed by the view from her dorm, where she could see the bay and where it connected to the Pacific Ocean, as well as the edge of the skyline. 

But from here, Felicity could see the entire skyline, lit up by the city lights and skyscrapers, which included the KI, QC, and MG headquarter buildings. Despite living in cities for a majority of her life, the view was still something else. 

Felicity turned back and sat down on the piano bench, admiring the baby grand. Aside from the few fingerprints that lingered on the cover, the piano seemed as if the glossy coat was brand new, untouched. Too tempted, Felicity ran her fingers over the keys and played a quick little tune. 

She paused when she thought she heard the elevator ding. Felicity listened and didn’t hear anything, chalking it up to being in a new place mixed with her nerves of starting on the next day. 

Felicity wondered where Ryan was and why he hadn’t checked in with her yet. That wasn’t like him, to not text her at least once every hour if he wasn’t with her. And she hadn’t seen him since he left her dorm room around four-thirty. She texted him, hoping he would reply soon. 

Thinking about Ryan made her remember their conversation in the car ride that afternoon. Writing original songs often sounded like it would be a lot of work, and Felicity knew that it would be difficult, but worth it, if it gave her a chance to be noticed by universities. 

“Maybe I should make a video introducing myself, and thanking everyone for watching, liking and commenting on the video. Ehh, but it’s too late, there is no way that I could make any sense if I spoke into a camera right now.” Felicity ran her hand up her face and into her hair. “God, Felicity, people would probably think you were more normal if you stopped talking to yourself.”

She took a glance at her phone, laying screen down. “Hmm, maybe practicing wouldn’t hurt. Just introduce yourself and thank everyone. That shouldn’t be hard.” Felicity turned opened the camera on her phone and put it on the recording setting, and propped her phone up. 

She took a deep breath and pressed record. “Hi there! I’m Felicity Smoak, or SmoakinMelodies. Thank you guys so much for watching, liking and commenting on my last video! Oh my god… did I just call all of you guys? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to assume your gender or anything! Guys and girls. Wait what if you don’t identify as either. Ugh, great job, Felicity. You can’t even talk to yourself into a camera. How the hell are you supposed to talk to anyone in person if you can’t stop getting off topic or babbling?”

“I can’t help you with the in-person thing, but for the video, maybe try writing a script and placing it behind the camera, so it looks like you’re looking into it, but are actually reading off the script.”

Felicity wasn’t expecting anyone to be on the top floor, especially since she wandered the entire building by herself and there were no signs of anyone else there. Looking up from her phone, she saw a guy standing at the doorway, leaning his shoulder on the door frame. Frazzled, Felicity shuffled around and ended up knocking the bench over and falling on her back, groaning. 

Mystery dude hurried over and tried to help her up. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to frighten you! Are you alright?”

Felicity opened her eyes and found herself looking into the deepest, bluest eyes she has ever seen. Holy crap, those were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Was she in heaven?

Mystery dude chuckled and smirked. “Isn’t it supposed to be me who asks that question? Considering you were the one that fell and all.”

She groaned and closed her eyes. “I really need to get a new brain to mouth filter. Well, I never really had one anyway. But technically, it’s still a new one.” Felicity blinked a few times and her eyes focused in on mystery guy, who was currently leaning over her. She noted that he had dirty blonde hair that was longer than most guys would have it, a strong, sharp jaw, and a little mole just under the corner of his lips. 

Felicity blinked a few more times and then her mind pieced together everything she just saw. She let out a louder, very unlady-like groan.

“Of course you go to school here.” 

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Need any clarifications? Let me know in the comments! (pls be gentle. I'm an anxious smol.)


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